Simulating Language (U00521)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : PPL-3-SL-LI

How is language learned, and how do we process language? What drives language to change, and how can we predict the time-course of that change? What are the origins of language and how did it evolve in humans? These are some of the questions that can be tackled by building working models of language in computer simulations.

The aim of this course is to give an introduction to some of the techniques
of computational modelling and simulation and show how they have been used to shed light on debates in: language acquisition, language change, and language evolution. The focus will be mainly on learning how to assess the literature in these areas, rather than a practical course on simulation techniques, although there will be a few practical sessions working with a user-friendly simulation package.

Because of this, although its subject is computational modelling, this course does not require any prior computational or mathematical training whatsoever.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : English Language 2 OR Linguistics 2A and 2B OR Linguistics 2A and 2L

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Language Sciences, (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Schedule I)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 3 hour(s) per week for 9 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
12/01/2009	14:00	15:00			Rm 1.17 Dugald Stewart Building

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Monday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Thursday	14:00	14:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	14:00	14:50	Central

? Additional Class Information : Rm 1.17 Dugald Stewart Building

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

- An ability to critically assess research papers that use modelling techniques;
- an understanding of connectionism, evolutionary computation, and multi-agent models;
- a basic ability to develop the foundations and specifications of computational models.